A Christmas Miracle
by Topazicatzbeth
Summary: Danny is helping out with Grace's school fair when things go horribly wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Who's up for a bit of christmas whump? Thanks to wenwalke for fixing all my mistakes. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own H50. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Chapter One**

Danny entered the school hall, his hands full of Christmas decorations. Grace had managed to rope him into helping with the school fair, so they had arrived early that Saturday morning to help decorate the hall. He glanced over and smiled as he saw Grace hanging decorations on the school tree. He set down the decorations, and taking one he climbed the ladder. He had already hung decorations down the far side of the hall, and only had a small section to go to finish this side. As he pushed the tac into the ceiling Danny felt the ladder wobble and grabbed hold of a rung to steady himself.

"Hey, be careful up there, Danny. I do not want you to be my first casualty of the day." A voice called up to him from below.

Danny looked down and saw the familiar sight of the pretty, petite, blonde doctor. "Hey, Dr. Pearce, what are you doing here?" He smiled as he headed down the ladder.

"I think it's about time you started calling me by my first name, Andrea. Don't you?" She smiled.

"Ok, Andrea. Hey, what are you doing here?"

"My niece started school here this year, and she decided to offer my services as first aider for the fair."

"Oh she did? I know that one. Grace managed to rope me in to the decorating committee, as you can see. So, which one is your niece?"

"The little angel over by the Santa grotto, she is so excited."

Danny smiled, remembering fondly how excited Grace used to get. "I bet. I heard Mr. Peaks is playing Santa this year. He's great with the kids."

"Danno, you need to hurry up with those decorations, the fair is opening soon." Grace said coming over to join her father. "Dr. Pearce, hey."

"Hey, Grace. Good to see you, especially outside the hospital." She smiled, and Danny rolled his eyes knowing it was a dig at how many times a member of the team ended up at the hospital to be patched up.

"Good to see you too. Danno, the decorations," Grace insisted.

"Okay, okay, I'm doing it." Danny sighed. He grabbed another decoration and headed back up the ladder.

Finally Danny finished the decorations and returned the ladder to the back of the hall. He then grabbed a drink and headed over to where Dr. Pearce was stationed, in case anyone was hurt, Grace was chatting away to her.

"Hey, did you lose your niece?" Danny asked, noting the little girl wasn't around.

"No, her mum, my sister, has her." Andrea Pearce replied.

"Oh, thank goodness, Detective Williams, I'm so relieved to find you." Principle Fiske said rushing over to join them.

"Is everything ok?" Danny asked his hand automatically going to rest where his gun would normally be, but of course he didn't have it with him today.

"No, no, it's not. I really need your help. I just had a call from Mrs. Peaks. Mr. Peaks had a small stroke last night."

"Oh no, that's terrible." Danny replied concerned.

"He's doing well, thankfully he received really good medical care and they expect him to make a full recovery, but he isn't going to be able to come today. Now we have no Santa."

"Oh no," Dr. Pearce sighed, "the children were really looking forward to it. My niece, Janey, was so excited."

"Yeah it's a real shame, isn't there anyone else who can fill in?" Danny asked.

"Well yes, yes there is. I was hoping..." And Principle Fiske smiled.

"You were hoping what?" Danny asked, and then it dawned on him. "Oh no, you have to be kidding, you want me to play Santa?"

"Please, Detective, you're the only one who can help us. You don't want to let all the children down, do you?"

"Come on Danno, you have to do it." Grace pleaded.

"Oh no, no I don't. Santa has to be jolly, I'm not jolly. I'm not. I'm sure one of the other parents could stand in."

"Even if they were willing, I couldn't let them." Principle Fiske replied, disappointed. "Anyone taking on such a roll has to have a police background check done. Obviously, given your job, that wouldn't be needed. Please Detective Williams? Please could you stand in for us?"

Danny didn't know what to reply. He looked at Dr. Pearce for support, but found none.

"Come on, Danny. You can't possibly let down all those children."

"Andrea, you know I'm not exactly Santa material."

"Please Danno, you always dressed as Santa for me, pleeeease." Grace said batting her puppy dog eyes.

"I...I...I don't really have much choice, do I?" Danny sighed.

"Yes! You're the best, Danno." Grace said giving him a hug.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Detective Williams. We really do appreciate this. Please come with me so you can get ready. The fair will be opening soon."

Danny started to follow her then turned to look back at Grace and Dr. Pearce. "You both owe me, big time."

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny spent the whole of the day, dressed in a Santa suit, in a red hot hall. As the final little girl left his lap and ran back to her parents, and older sister, he stood and stretched. He had lost count of how many children had ended up sat on his knee, and he was tired and hungry, but he had to admit that he had enjoyed himself. Seeing the excitement and joy on the children's faces had made the long day worth while.

The hall was almost empty now, Principle Fiske was saying goodbye to the last of the families leaving. Dr. Pearce was clearing away her things. The most she had had to deal with, thankfully, was a split lip and a bloody nose, when two brothers collided as they got caught up in the excitement of the day. Grace was sat quietly alongside Dr. Pearce, reading a book. Danny started to head over to them, when he heard a commotion.

Turning, he saw a dark haired man barge past Principle Fiske, almost knocking her over. The man immediately made a beeline for the family that had just finished with Danny. The little girl had insisted on opening her present, there and then, and her big sister was helping her. The parents did not look happy when they saw the arrival of the new man.

"Jack, what are you doing here? You know you're not allowed within 100 feet of us." The woman said angrily.

Danny looked over at Grace and Dr. Pearce, rolled his eyes, and sighed. The family obviously had a restraining order against the man that he was breaking. Danny immediately changed direction and headed over to the arguing group.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?"

"Back off, Santa," Jack spat. "This is none of your business. I just want to see my girls."

Danny noticed that both girls had moved closer together, and were hiding behind the man that Danny now guessed was their stepfather.

"They don't want to see you, Jack." The woman shouted. "They're scared of you. Now go. You're ruining their Christmas fair."

"Sir, I think it best you leave now." Danny said, sandwiching himself between the arguing parents.

"I told you to back off, buddy. Go back to playing Santa." Jack said shoving Danny.

"Mr. Prentis. You need to leave now." Principle Fiske said joining them. "My staff have called the police. You know you are not allowed on school grounds."

"What? You bitch, you called the police? I just want to see my girls. He took them away from me. He stole my wife and my daughters."

"You need to calm down now, sir." Danny ordered.

"You're a drunk, Jack. I left you because you're a drunk who used to hit me. This isn't Henry's fault. He loves us. He's a wonderful father to the girls. He..." The woman's rant was finished with a scream as her ex-husband suddenly pulled out a gun from his jacket.

"Jack, put the gun down." Danny ordered. "Your daughters are here. There are other children present. Don't be stupid. Put the gun down and we can sort this all out." Danny tried to reason and really wished he wasn't still wearing the Santa suit. How was this man supposed to take him seriously when he was wearing a padded red suit and a white beard?

"I won't tell you again, Santa, back off. It's him I want." The man screamed, and the scent of alcohol couldn't be missed. But what had Danny more focused was the gun pointed in his face, and the scream that came from his daughter off to the side.

"Jack. Please. Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" Henry said stepping closer to his wife.

"Shut up, shut up." Jack screamed and started waving the gun around. The sound of police sirens could be heard getting louder, and the man was obviously starting to panic.

"Jack, calm down, nobody has to get hurt. We can sort this out. I understand that you want to see your kids." Danny tried to reason.

"I...I...just want to see my kids," Jack screamed turning around and looking to see who else was in the room. "I didn't want this...I just..."

There was a loud bang, followed by a scream from the two children, as the gun, which was being flung around every time the drunken man wildly gesticulated with his hands, accidentally exploded into life.

Danny's first thoughts were for Grace. He slowly turned his head to see her looking scared, huddled in Dr. Pearce's arms. Relieved that she seemed to be unhurt he looked at the man in front of him still holding the gun. There was a shocked look on his face; he obviously hadn't meant to fire the gun. The rest of the family, and Principle Fiske, all looked shell shocked. Danny had to mentally shake himself. He was a police officer, he needed to take control while Jack was off his game, but he couldn't seem to get his mind to come up with a plan. He felt sluggish, and the crying from the two girls sounded far off in the distance, when he knew they were only a few feet away.

Slowly he became aware of a pain low in his abdomen, as a buzzing made itself known in his ears. Time felt like it slowed down, yet the small, rational part left of his brain, told him it had only been a few seconds. His legs suddenly started to tremble, and his vision started to grey around the edges. "Put down the gun, Jack." Danny managed to whisper before his legs gave out, and he crashed to the floor.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Hope you like my Christmas gift to you. It's only a short one as I left it a bit late to start writing. **

**Chapter Two**

"Daddy, you killed Santa." The little girl cried, at the same time as screams of, "Danno," came from across the room.

The cries snapped Jack back to his senses and he turned the gun on Principle Fiske. "Close that door. Barricade it." He yelled, "You," he screamed at Dr. Pearce, and Grace, "both of you get over here. I want everyone where I can see you. Barricade that fire door first though."

Principle Fiske, and Dr. Pearce, immediately complied, sliding chair legs through the fire door handles to wedge them shut. Dr. Pearce then returned to Grace and ushered her over to the group.

"Jack, what the hell are you doing?" The woman shouted.

"Shut up, Sue. This is all, your, fault." Jack spat back.

"Jack." Dr. Pearce called, "please, can I check on him? I'm a doctor, I can help him."

"Ok, do it. Help him. I didn't mean to shoot him."

Dr. Pearce immediately dropped down beside Danny and pulled off the hat and beard, so she could check his breathing and pulse. "Danno?" Grace sobbed as she knelt by his head.

"It's ok, Grace, he's alive." Dr. Pearce reassured then ripped open the Santa coat revealing a pillow strapped around Danny's waist. She quickly removed the pillow, revealing a bullet hole low, just off centre, in his abdomen that was freely bleeding.

"I need my bag." Dr. Pearce said indicating the bag she had just packed her things into.

"Fine, go get it." Jack shouted, pointing to Grace who sprang to her feet and ran to get the bag, desperate to help her father. Passing the bag to Dr. Pearce, Grace returned to her position by Danny's head, and started running her hand through his hair.

Dr. Pearce looked through her bag, pulled out some gauze, and started pressing down on the wound desperate to stop the bleeding. The pressure obviously caused Danny pain as his eyes suddenly snapped open. "Danno?" Grace cried.

"Danny, welcome back." Dr. Pearce smiled trying to keep calm.

"Oh, god, it hurts." Danny gasped. "Is everyone else ok?"

"Everyone's fine, Danny, and so are you. I just need to check your back, ok?"

Danny nodded, knowing that she was checking for an exit wound. Leaving her right hand on Danny's stomach Dr. Pearce slid her left underneath Danny and felt around. Then she returned her left hand on top.

"No exit, huh?" Danny sighed.

"No." Dr. Pearce replied sadly shaking her head then looked up at the man who held them all hostage. "Jack. This man needs help."

"Then help him, you said you're a doctor." Jack screamed then jumped along with everyone else as there was banging on one of the barricaded doors.

"Sir, this is the police. We need you to come out of there. Is everyone ok?"

"Go away. I just want to see my girls. Leave us alone." Jack yelled. "I've already shot one man, I didn't mean to, but I did, so I have nothing to lose now. Go away and let me think."

"Sir, you said you shot someone, are they ok?"

"He has a doctor with him, he's fine."

"Jack, he's not fine. I don't have the right equipment with me. I can't do much for him here." Dr. Pearce desperately tried to reason

"Shut up. Just do what you can. I need to think." Jack yelled grabbing a flask from his jacket pocket and taking a swig.

Dr. Pearce looked at Danny, fear obvious in her eyes. "Danny, I don't have any painkillers with me. I'm sorry. I just have bandaged. I'm gonna try and get a pressure bandage on you, but I don't want you to move too much. We don't know where the bullet is."

"It's ok. Just do what you can." Danny looked up at Grace she was obviously scared, but was managing to hold it together. "I'm ok baby, just sore. Just stay with me ok."

"Ok, Danno." Grace said then had to stifle a sob as Danny tried his best not to yell as Dr. Pearce wrapped the bandage around his abdomen, causing pain to radiate through his stomach. Danny did his best to hold on to consciousness, but as Dr. Pearce secured the bandage it became too much, and the darkness that had been dancing around the peripheries swallowed him.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve tore down the hallway towards the school sports hall, the rest of the team following. "Duke, are we sure Danny is in there? Grace too?"

"Yes Steve. This is Mr. Daily, the vice principle. He had just left the hall when Mr. Prentis entered."

"Hi." Steve said shaking the man's hand. "So how many hostages do we have?"

"Detective Williams and his daughter Grace, Principle Fiske, then the Holt family, that's Mr and Mrs Holt and the two girls, Gemma and Sofi. And Dr. Pearce was still in there too."

"Dr. Pearce? As in Dr. Pearce from Queen's Medical Centre." Kono asked shocked.

"Yes, I believe that's where she works." Mr. Daily replied.

"What is she doing here?" Lou asked.

"Her niece attends the school. She agreed to be our first aider for the day."

"Is the niece in there too?" Chin wondered.

"No. That's all the people that were still in the hall. Janey left with her parents about thirty minutes ago."

"Do we know what this guy wants?" Steve asked concerned that now three people they cared about were trapped inside.

"He says he just wants to see his daughters." Duke filled them in.

"And that's the two girls?"

"Yes." Mr. Daily confirmed. "The parents are divorced. Mr. Prentis has an alcohol problem and used to beat his ex-wife. They have a restraining order against him."

"We were told one of the hostages had been shot. Do we know who? How bad?"

"No." Duke said shaking his head. "But we can assume it's not the doctor as he said she was attending to the victim. Steve, he said the injured person was a male. There are only two other men in there, Danny, and Mr. Holt."

"Can we get eyes in there? What windows do we have?" Lou said starting to strategically plan.

"It's the sports hall. There are no windows, only a door at either end of the hall, which he has barricaded." Duke explained and the team realised the only way was going to be to talk him out.

"Lou, try and make contact with him, see if he will let the injured man out, or someone in." Steve ordered.

"You're willing to send a medic in there?" Lou asked, shocked that Steve was willing to give the man another hostage.

"I'll go in." A voice behind them volunteered.

"Ani." Steve smiled turning and seeing their EMT friend.

"I'll go in. It could be Danny in there hurt, he needs help." She stated.

"You don't know how much I appreciate that, Ani," Steve smiled "I know Danny will too, but there is no way I can let you go in there. I can't put you in danger. Hopefully we can talk him into letting whoever is hurt out, but if not, I'll go in. I have field medicine training so I can help the injured person, and hopefully I'll get an opportunity to take control of the situation."

"Alright I'll go try and talk with him." Lou said moving over to the door. "Jack, this is Captain Lou Grover. I'm with 5-0. I'd like to talk to you."

Jack moved over from his position by the huddled group to the door. "What? What do you want?"

"Jack, you said someone in there had been shot, we'd like to get them some medical attention. I need you to let them out please. Who has been hurt Jack?"

"I can't...I can't let him out. I didn't mean to hurt Santa but I need him, I can't let him out."

"Santa? Who's Santa?" Lou whispered to Mr. Daily.

"It's Detective Williams. He filled in last minute as our Santa."

"Oh no," Kono said raising her hand to her mouth.

"Wait, Danny was playing Santa?" Steve asked shocked.

"Yes." Mr. Daily confirmed.

"Lou, find out how bad it is, get him out of there." Steve ordered.

"Jack. I understand you didn't mean to hurt anyone. You need to do the right thing and let us help the man you hurt. Let him out."

"No. I can't do that." Jack spat back.

"Ok, then I need you to let a medic in." Lou replied, when Steve indicated that he would go in.

"He has a doctor."

"Jack, I need supplies. I can't do anything to help him. I need the proper medical supplies. He could die, Jack, if he doesn't get help. You don't want that, do you?" Dr. Pearce called out from her position by Danny's side. He had once again regained consciousness and Grace had insisted on placing his head in her lap, so he would be more comfortable. She had managed to slow the bleeding, but Danny's pulse was elevated, and no doubt his blood pressure was low. Given that the bullet was still in his abdomen it could be doing, or already done, unseen damage.

"Alright. Alright. I'll let a medic in to help him."

"That's great, Jack. I appreciate that. Now, so the medic will know what to bring, where did you shoot Santa? What are his injuries?" Lou asked, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to give away the fact that Danny was a cop.

"In the stomach, there's blood, a lot of blood. Get your medic here. I'll let them in, but if anyone tries anything I'll shoot the Principle."

"No ones going to try anything, I promise. We just want to get some help in there. We don't want anyone to die, do we Jack? The medic is just getting his supplies together."

Jack stormed away from the door. "Girls come here." He yelled and both his daughters slowly stood and reluctantly moved over to their father. "What's up princess?" He asked seeing his youngest daughter, Sofi, staring at Danny lying on the floor.

"That's not Santa, why isn't he Santa? Is Santa not real?" The little girl asked softly.

"Sofi," Danny smiled at the little girl. "You're right, I'm not really Santa. But I am good friends with him. He is really busy right now getting everything ready, so he trusts a few special people to help him each year. I send Santa the list of what everyone asked for. Don't worry sweetheart, he already knows about the doll. I sent the list as soon as I finished with you."

Sofi smiled and Danny did too, Grace might be too old to believe in Santa now, but he would be dammed if this little girl's fantasies were ruined by her drunken father. Sofi looked at her dad. "Daddy, please, I want to go home now."

"We will sweetheart, Daddy is just gonna work out how we are going to get out of here." Jack replied.

"No. I want to go home with mommy. Please daddy let us go."

Jack looked over at Henry Holt. "This is all, your, fault, you've turned them against me."

"You did that yourself Jack." Sue Holt spat.

Jacks eyes filled with rage and his hand tightened around the gun, he marched over to Sue Holt and placed the gun between the woman's eyes. "Why shouldn't I just do it? What have I got to lose?"

"Jack. Jack, listen to me. You need to calm down. You do this and your girls will never forgive you. Please Jack." Danny tried to reason. Seeing Jack's finger move closer to the trigger, which Danny had found out the hard way didn't take much to fire the gun. Danny heaved himself up to a sitting position.

"Danny, no, stay still." Dr. Pearce ordered but Danny shrugged her off.

"Jack, don't be silly. Please think of your girls. You're doing all this for your girls, right?" Danny said trying to ignore the roaring pain in his stomach, and the lights dancing around the edges of his vision.

"Yeah. Yeah. I just wanted to give them their Christmas presents." Jack said lowering the gun and walking away as both girls ran sobbing to their mother.

Danny sighed with relief then put his hand to his abdomen as his bandages soaked through with blood, and his vision swayed.

"God Danny, you started the bleeding again." Dr. Pearce scolded. "Lay back down." She ordered and forced him back down to the floor. "Jack, I need that medic in here now." She screamed as Danny's eyes started to roll back into his head.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Glad everyone is enjoying my Christmas gift. **

**Chapter Three**

"Medic." Steve yelled, banging on the door. He had quickly changed into Jonah's spare EMT uniform while Jonah and Ani packed everything he would need into a bag. Now he was ready to go in, his gun carefully hidden at the bottom of the medic's bag.

"I'm gonna open the door. I have Principle Fiske here. Anyone try anything and I blow her head off. You hear me?" Jack yelled.

"We hear you man, we just want to help Mr. Williams." Lou explained.

Slowly Jack removed the chair and opened the door allowing Steve to enter. Then he barricaded it back up. "Wait." He yelled as Steve made a bee line for his fallen partner.

Jack moved over to Steve and started to pat him down, "I don't have anything man." Steve played along. "I'm just a medic. That man needs help"

"Jack, I need that stuff now." Dr. Pearce shouted.

"Ok, go. Help her." He yelled then grabbed Principle Fiske by the arm and threw her to the floor by the Holt family.

Steve ran to Danny's side, and dropped the bag. Grace was silently sobbing and looked up to see Steve by her side. As her eyes flashed with recognition Steve quickly shook his head, signalling for her to play along with the rouse that he was just a medic.

Looking down at his partner he was relieved to see him conscious. He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and gave a squeeze. "What do you need, doc?"

"He needs fluids and fast, he's lost a lot of blood. Can you start an IV?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Steve answered. Dr. Pearce knew Steve had some medical training, so she trusted him to get what she needed done, while she assessed Danny's abdomen. Finding it distended she sighed, "oh no. Danny you're bleeding internally."

"Yeah, I guessed as much." Danny mumbled, trying to ignore the fact that his best friend was currently rooting around in his left arm, trying to find a vein, but was struggling due to Danny's body being so shut down.

Letting out a breath of relief, Steve finally secured an IV and attached the fluids. Dr. Pearce had moved on to searching through the bag. Ignoring the gun she found hidden, she pulled out the drug box, and quickly drew up some morphine. "This should help with the pain." She explained.

"Thanks, Andrea." Danny smiled.

"You want oxygen?" Steve asked. His first priority was stabilising his partner. Jack was pacing the room and didn't seem a threat at the moment, so he had to focus on Danny.

"Yeah, nasal cannula will be ok for now." Dr. Pearce responded while checking Danny's blood pressure.

"How's the pain, Danny?" Steve asked as he looped the nasal cannula behind his friend's ears.

"Better, but I still feel dizzy." Danny replied.

"How's he doing?" Jack asked coming closer.

"He needs a hospital. He needs surgery. This will only work for so long, Jack." Dr. Pearce said sternly.

Steve eyed the man up. Danny was in a bad way, he needed help and fast. Unhappy with Danny's vitals Dr. Pearce quickly started a second IV in Danny's right arm. Once she had finished Danny reached behind him and took hold of Grace's hand. "It's ok baby."

"Hey, this man needs a hospital. What's your plan here? What do you want? If you don't decide soon he is gonna die." Steve yelled at Jack.

"I don't know, ok. I didn't plan all this. I just wanted to see my girls. Do you know what it's like not being able to see them, to have that bitch take my babies away from me?"

"I do." Danny said weakly.

"What?" Jack said staring down at the man he had injured.

"My wife left me. Remarried, and moved here from New Jersey. She took my baby away from me." Danny continued briefly looking up at Grace, and smiling at her. "I spent the worst month of my life, desperately missing her, only being able to talk on the phone."

"At least you got that. I got nothing. And now look at you. That's your daughter right?" Jack yelled and indicated to Grace with the gun. Steve's hand moved to the bag his hand closing around the gun, but Danny stopped any attempt to take Jack down with a squeeze on Steve's thigh, and a slight head shake.

"Yeah it is. But do you know why we're together now? Because I gave up everything, for her. I left everything I knew, and moved here so I could see her. You have to do that too. You have to give up the drinking, get sober. Turn your life around, and make your girls proud."

Jack dropped the gun to his side, "it's too late. Look what I did." Jack said pointing to Danny, his eyes wet.

"Jack, this was an accident." Dr. Pearce spoke out. "We all know you didn't mean to hurt him. The gun just went off. But, if you don't end this now, this is not going to end well."

"Please Jack. Put down the gun." Danny said his voice hoarse and his hand slipping from Steve's knee as his eyes closed.

"Jack, this is your last chance to do the right thing." Steve yelled, ready to pull his gun out and take the man down. He really didn't want to kill the man, especially in front of his daughters, and Grace, but if he had to, to save his best friends life, he would.

Dr. Pearce checked Danny's vitals and started squeezing the bag of fluids.

"Daddy, please." Sofi cried, and Jack finally placed the gun on the table near by. Steve didn't wait a second longer. He pounced on Jack and took the man down hard. Flipping him over, he restrained the man then yelled out. "Lou suspect detained. We're gonna un-barricade the door. Get Ani and Jonah in here now."

Mr. Holt ran to the door and removed the chair, while the girls clung to their mother. The team and HPD immediately swarmed the hall. Lou and Chin ran to relieve Steve, who returned to Danny's side. Kono had run to Grace's side.

"Grace, go with Kono." Danny whispered forcing his eyes open.

"No, Danno, I want to stay with you." Grace cried.

"Please baby. Go with Kono."

"Grace, come on sweetheart. Come with me, we need to make room for the medics to take care of your dad." Kono said pulling Grace away, and Danny's eyes closed again.

"Hey, Danny, stay with us." Steve yelled at his best friend.

Danny forced his eyes open and stared at Steve, "how's the new uniform working for you?"

"About as good as yours. Santa, really?"

Danny gave a week smile, "you gonna insist on driving my sleigh too?" Which caused Steve to give a small laugh.

Ani and Jonah had been busy working with Dr. Pearce to connect Danny to a monitor, and examine the wound again. "We're ready to go guys. We need to move now."

Steve helped them lift Danny on to the gurney, and before any of them knew what was happening they were hurtling towards the ambulance. Dr. Pearce barked orders as the monitor started screaming. As they reached the ambulance the dreaded shrill of a flat line filled the air.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: thanks for all the reviews. Glad you enjoyed my little Christmas present. **

**Merry Christmas everyone. Next story will be ready for the new year. **

**Chapter Four**

Danny slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling tiles above him. They seemed familiar, but he wasn't sure where he was. Memories of strange dreams and familiar voices drifted back to him.

There was beeping in the background, and a dull ache in his abdomen, reminding him of the shooting.

Steve saw Danny open his eyes and watched for a second, to see if his eyes were clear, or if he was still caught up in his confused state. He had spent the past few days fighting with his partner, trying to keep him calm, and stop him from pulling out much needed lines for fluids and antibiotics, refusing to let the hospital staff restrain his best friend. Seeing clarity in his friend's eyes, Steve spoke softly, "Hey, Merry Christmas."

Turning his head, Danny saw Steve sat in a chair beside him, with the goofiest grin he had ever seen, plastered across his face.

"Merry Christmas?" Danny asked, confused.

"It's early Christmas Day morning." Steve explained. "Looks like we all got the Christmas Miracle we've desperately been hoping for."

"Christmas Day?" Danny repeated while frowning.

"Yeah. You've been scaring the hell out of us for the past five days. You flat lined as we reached the ambulance. You were so lucky Dr. Pearce was there. She managed to get you back, and into surgery."

Danny took a minute to absorb the information, "what's the damage?" He asked, slowly moving his hand to protect his aching stomach.

"The bullet hit your small bowel, but doc, or should I say Andrea?" Steve slyly smiled, he hadn't missed that Danny had called Dr. Pearce by her first name, "She managed to fix you up. The main problem has been the infection that set in. You've been totally out of it, and fighting a fever since then. We thought we were gonna lose you buddy." Steve paused and took a deep breath. "Fever finally broke a few hours ago, and your vitals stabilised."

"Oh man, Grace, where's Grace?"

"Relax, she's with Kono. She and Chin have been taking it in turns to stay with her, at your place. Lou and his family have been helping during the day. We've been trying to keep everything as normal as possible for her." Steve explained. "We found your stash of presents. Don't worry, they'll be under the tree by now so Grace will have her presents to open."

"Thanks." Danny sighed, "I ruined everybody's Christmas."

"The hell you did. You didn't ask to get shot. Trust me, everyone's best Christmas present this year is going to be you on the mend. I can't wait to make those calls. I get to give everyone the greatest gift."

Danny smiled, seeing how happy his friend looked he realised just how much he had worried him. "What happened to Jack?"

"He's been remanded for breaking his restraining order, the DA wanted to wait and talk to you before decided what charges to bring for the shooting." Steve explained.

"He didn't mean to shoot me."

"No. But he did bring a gun to a school, and he held people hostage. He denied you proper medical treatment. You almost died. He needs to pay for that Danny. Don't feel sorry for him just because you identify with him missing his kids."

Danny nodded and closed his eyes. He was exhausted and he had only just woken up.

"Go back to sleep, it's only 6 am. You'll need your rest. Everyone will want to visit, once they know you're back in the land of the living."

"No. They should enjoy their Christmas." Danny protested, his eyes not opening and his breathing already deepening.

"Danno, if you really think they aren't gonna head straight over here, doc has you on too much morphine." Steve laughed, then realised the blonde detective had already fallen back asleep. Sighing, he settled back in his chair. He had been warned that Danny would most likely sleep a lot, and remain weak, as he continued to recover. Steve was just relieved that they were now talking about recovery.

Making him self comfy, he glanced at his watch, deciding he had a few more hours before it was his turn to play Santa and start making calls.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny became aware of a rumble of voices around the room. Smiling as he recognised them as the voices of his Ohana. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the same ceiling tiles as the last time, but now there was a decoration hanging above his head. Turning his head towards where he last saw Steve sitting, he gasped when he saw a two foot fibre optic Christmas tree with a bag of presents beside it.

"Hey, Mele, Kalikimaka." Chin said seeing his friend awake, which caused Danny to turn his head to see the gathering of friends.

"Do you like it, Danno?" Grace asked excited, as she ran to her father's side. "I know it's not a real one, like we always get, but the hospital wouldn't allow one."

"It's beautiful baby. Can I sit up so I can see it better?" Danny asked, and Steve immediately grabbed hold of the bed control and elevated Danny's head. Now able to see the whole room he saw that it was decorated with Christmas cards, and there were boxes of food on a table at the back of the room. "Something smells good." He smiled.

"That would be Christmas dinner, cooked by my beautiful wife." Lou said indicating where his wife was busy sorting containers, along with his son and daughter.

"You should be at home, enjoying Christmas together." Danny sighed. "Not here while all I do is sleep. Is it lunchtime already?" Danny asked Steve, shocked at how long he had slept.

"Almost, you've slept for a good few hours. I called everyone, and of course they headed straight in. Grace has been waiting ever so patiently for you to wake, before she opens her gifts."

"You should have opened them babe."

"No way, Danno, I wanted to wait for you. I'm just so glad you're ok."

"Me too Monkey." Danny said pulling Grace in for a hug.

"Well I see the patient is finally awake again." Dr. Pearce said standing at the door.

"Yeah, he just woke up." Kono smiled. "Do you want to join us for Christmas dinner? We have plenty."

"That would be nice. I just finished my shift, and my sister isn't expecting me till this evening." She said entering the room. "I hope you weren't planning on eating any of that delicious smelling food though Danny."

"Let me guess, I'm nil by mouth." Danny groaned.

"Not quite. But given the surgery, and lack of anything taken orally for the last few days, we need to take things slow."

"I made you some turkey broth." Lou's wife said holding up a flask.

"Thanks, that sounds good. That's ok right, Andrea?" Danny asked flashing her a big smile.

"That will be fine. So the room looks good." She replied while admiring all the decorations.

"We thought we'd bring Christmas to Danny." Kono explained. "Thanks for allowing it."

"We thought you might miss it brah, although in your confused state I think you were enjoying your own Christmas. You were rambling about reindeer and a sleigh." Chin joked, and the others laughed.

"Great." Danny flushed with embarrassment.

"Ignore them, Danny. You were a great Santa. I saw the look on all those children's faces." Dr. Pearce said, while giving Danny's charts a quick look over and smiling at the improved results.

"How's he doing, doc?" Steve enquired.

"Good. He's over the worst now." She smiled then turned back to Danny. "Keep improving like the last twelve hours and we'll have you home for New Year."

"Great, now can you guys please eat your dinner, the smell is driving me crazy." Danny sighed, and that was all it took to for his Ohana to grab paper plates and start dishing out the food.

"Andrea." Danny quietly called out to catch the doctor's attention.

"What is it Danny? Are you in pain?" She asked concerned.

"A bit, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Danny answered, "I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for everything, for taking care of me at the school, taking care of Grace, and especially for saving my life."

"You're more than welcome." Dr. Pearce replied while hitting a button on one of the pump beside Danny's bed.

Danny felt the ache in his stomach start to ease, and he rolled his eyes knowing that Dr. Pearce had obviously just given a bolus of painkillers. "I thought you'd finished your shift."

"Well, when 5-0 are around, it seems I'm never off duty. Now, how about I get you some broth?" She laughed heading over and grabbing a bowl.

Returning to Danny's bed she set the bowl down then waved a cracker. "I'm sorry you have to miss out on Christmas dinner, but you don't have to miss out on the other Christmas traditions."

Danny laughed and grabbed hold of the cracker. Steve was busy pulling one with Grace, and Chin with Kono. The cracker ripped in two with a bang, and Dr. Pearce smiled with glee at her winning half, "no fair," Danny pretend sulked, "I was hindered by the IV." And he waved his hand around causing the IV tubing to bounce around to illustrate his point.

"Here." She laughed placing the paper hat on his head. "Now eat your broth, and then your daughter can finally open her presents."

Danny took the spoon she handed him and took a mouthful of the broth. It tasted great and he reminded himself that he would have to thank Lou's wife, again, for thinking of him. He watched Dr. Pearce grab a plate and start helping herself to some food then join in a conversation with Chin and Kono. Just to their side Grace was giggling with Steve as he helped her with her food.

This certainly wasn't the Christmas he had planned. He felt weak and exhausted, and as he watched his friends closely, he realised they all looked tired too. This had obviously taken its toll on everyone. Steve had said that everyone had got their Christmas Miracle and he was right, Danny had the miracle of a loving and supportive family, and while the hospital wasn't his first choice of venues, he was grateful that he was getting to spend the day with them.

**THE END**


End file.
